“Fe de Pascua – Gozo de Pascua”

“Easter Faith – Easter Joy”BUILDING ON 100 YEARS OF CARING AND SHARINGEaster Blessings to each of you, parishioners and friends of Queen of Angels! It is my prayer and hope that this greatest of feasts in the Church Year will not only fill you with the happiness of this day but also strengthen your belief and trust in our Lord Jesus. The feast of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead is truly the cornerstone of what we believe as baptized Christians. It is the reason for our saying, “I do believe” when we renew our baptismal vows during the Easter Liturgy.

What happened during the early morning hours of that first Easter was the fulfillment of many of Jesus’ words to us heard during the days of Lent. And this great event, this mystery of our faith, happens again and again in our daily lives.

When we take a look at the day-to-day occurrences of life, we find out how many times we call upon God for help and assurance in all that we do. We may need to wait longer for results than we would like, but we hang on and ponder about the when and how of God’s response to our prayer. Are not these times much like the moments of the first Holy Week, when the followers of Jesus became discouraged and fearful at seeing how three years of being with Jesus turned out?

They had been waiting for the great fulfillment of a Messiah who would save them from the oppression and power of foreign rulers. Instead, Jesus was crucified as a result of the betrayal of one of their company. What a disillusionment!

But there were those who never lost faith in Jesus and who knew and believed in his word and promise. We are told how Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early on the third day following Jesus’ death and found it empty. This was her greatest moment of faith. Mary Magdalene believed so firmly in Jesus’ rising from the dead that she left the place where Jesus was buried and rushed to tell Peter, John and the other disciples what she witnessed. We see in the first Christian community, the first followers of Jesus, the results of a strong faith in the Jesus whom they accompanied for three years.

We, too, are invited to believe in Jesus as the events of our lives unfold, to believe he has a hand in our lives – in the unexpected happenings that occur in our families, in dreaded illnesses, or in disappointments at our places of work. As a people of faith we are called upon to exercise great trust and belief in a God who dwells in those “tomb-like” situations of our lives. Just as the tomb was broken open on that first Easter morning with Jesus rising from the dead, God will also transform us into people who truly believe that God will break open the tombs we experience in life, most especially during our moments of the Eucharistic celebration.

We are invited to the table to let God nourish in us the gifts of faith, hope and love we received in Baptism. Rejoice, then, in Jesus’ rising to new life. We, too, will rise!